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03 Aug 2015 4:40:42am

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If the 'natural law' you are referring to is that put forward by Thomas Aquinas the following is probably relevant, as it has probably had an influence over Catholic theological thought second only to Jesus Christ. It has been instrument in the formation of the Catholic Canon Law that compels its leaders to maintain their long history of opposing any public legitimising of homosexual behaviour and, therefore, same-sex marriage.Catholic Canon Law denies the possibility of same-sex marriage on the grounds that same-sex couples cannot have penetrative vaginal sex with ejaculation and therefore cannot consummate a marriage. In their view, a same-sex marriage is simply not possible. Interestingly, the same law applies to the impotent. So an impotent wheelchair bound quadriplegic will be refused approval to marry in the Catholic church. This is particularly relevant as it is the conservative Catholic Labor MPs, not to mention Tony Abbott, that are refusing to support the changes to the Marriage Act to allow same-sex marriage because they are adhering to this Catholic teaching. I have written to a number of Catholic bishops asking them why they are neglecting their duty and not lobbying to have the Marriage Act amended to disqualify the impotent from marriage alongside same-sex couples. In response George Pell acknowledged that the church's form of marriage differed from the civil form. Apparently the Catholic church's form of marriage can survive intact alongside a differing form of civil marriage without being undermined, threatened or otherwise altered. It seems that the church accepts that heterosexual couples excluded from the Catholic form of marriage, because they can't fulfil the requirement to consummate it in the prescribed manner, should be allowed to have a different form of civil marriage but same-sex couples should be denied the same option. What would you conclude from this inconsistency David? Allowing the impotent to qualify for civil marriage has not prevented the church continuing its discrimination against same-sex couples, divorcees, non-Christians or anyone else it determines is disqualified from its form of marriage. Allowing same-sex couples to qualify for civil marriage will be no different.Civil marriage already provides an option for many people in our community who are denied marriage by a range of religious institutions for a variety of reasons. Civil marriage provides an alternative to religious marriage and allowing same-sex couples access to it will maintain that principle without impinging on anyone's religious beliefs, including yours.